Do you really need to take nutritional supplements?

Given the importance of good nutrition it is puzzling why many people who are interested in bodybuilding and fitness don’t pay enough attention to what they eat. One of the main reasons for this is that when you read the fitness magazines, page after page is full of information about nutrition supplements that make big claims and promises that are hard to ignore.

The “evidence” behind these claims certainly makes a compelling case for the various powders and capsules. 

They almost make it seem that food is a poor substitute for their “perfect formulation”.

Take branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) as an example.

These are three essential amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, and valine) and they make up about one-third of our muscles. During exercise, BCAAs are broken down (or metabolized) within the muscles and are used by the body to supply energy. 

They are particularly important during periods of sustained exercise (25 minutes or more) when the body uses BCAAs as its main source of energy.

So taking a BCAA supplement seems to make sense. Or does it?

The problem is that the synthetic BCAAs contained in supplements are not as easily absorbed by the body as the BCAAs found naturally in foods such as eggs, red meat and whey protein powder. This means that only a small proportion of the BCAAs contained in the supplements is actually used to create energy; the rest is totally wasted. 

The same is true for very many of the hyped up supplements that the magazines and fitness “gurus” want you to buy. 

And there is one reason for this, and one reason only: they are making a clean fortune from them.

Many of the magazines are in fact owned by supplement companies and those that aren’t generate a lot of their income from supplement company adverts – so there are clearly vested interests. But the purpose of this article is not to bash the big supplement companies – it is to provide information on the value of good nutrition and to help you get real results from your training.

Do I Need Any Supplements?

It is scientifically proven that the vitamins and minerals contained in food are more easily absorbed by the body than those within supplement capsules and powders.

However, a daily multi-vitamin and mineral supplement containing the recommended daily allowances (RDA) is unlikely to cause any ill-effects and can serve as a safeguard against a less than perfect diet.

What About Antioxidants?

Everyone has heard of the term antioxidants and knows that they are important for health. But what are they and what do they do?

Simply put, antioxidants are vitamins or minerals that help prevent damage to the heart, arteries and other tissues. They do this by neutralizing the harmful free radicals that are created as a by-product of metabolism.

During exercise the rise in body temperature and increase in respiration levels increases the rate of free radical production and more antioxidants are needed to keep these in check. Antioxidants are found in vitamins C, E and beta-carotene (a provitamin found carrots and other fruits and veg) and in the minerals copper, manganese, selenium and zinc.

The daily requirements of all of these nutrients are found in a good, balanced diet and there is little evidence to support the need for supplementation. However, as noted earlier, a general purpose multi-vitamin and mineral supplement will make good any shortfall.

Using plan:one makes sure that you get the best possible nutrition to achieve the fastest results from your training program, without unnecessary nutritional supplements.